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Mayor Neil Ellis discusses the Build Belleville program before a crowd of approximately 40 people at Thursday's public session. Some of the attendees praised the idea noting it will address projects which require attention.

The winning bidder for a casino in the Belleville-Quinte gamzing zone should be known by year's end, but Quinte West's mayor isn't holding his breath the facility will land there.

“It's pretty clear that if there's going to be a bid it's probably going to be in Belleville,” said John Williams.

He suggested the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG), which is overseeing the creation of new casinos and the possible relocation of others, didn't realize part of Quinte West extends north of Belleville.

Quinte West asked the provincial body to include all of the municipality in the gaming zone but was refused.

Potential operators have until March 7 to submit their pre-qualification applications, but Williams said he doesn't expect any interest in Quinte West.

“We don't have the right amount of land and we don't have the services,” he said. The part of Quinte West included in the gaming zone sits north of the Quinte Mall. It isn't zoned for gaming and does not have municipal utility services, such as water and sewer.

Williams said, however, that his municipality remains open to the possibility if a potential operator wants a casino in Quinte West.

Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis said his city is ready.

“There's serviced land. There's zoned land,” he said, referring to land on the south side of Bell Boulevard between Sidney Street and Wallbridge-Loyalist Road.

“We've had a lot of interest in operators and investors. Now it's back to OLG,” said Ellis.

Tony Bitonti, a spokesman for OLG, said Quinte West wasn't included in error and isn't alone in its partial inclusion. Part of Burlington, for example, is attached to a zone that mainly covers Hamilton.

Zones were created based on where OLG expects gamblers to come from, Bitonti said, and Quinte West is still in the game.

“It will be up to the private-sector operator to decide where they would really like it,” Bitonti said from Toronto.

“They could come up with a proposal for Quinte West.

“Anything can happen. We will have to put the final stamp of approval on the site because we have to make sure it's a financially-viable site.”

Zones are designed to prevent casinos from competing with each other, he said, which is why Quinte West's expansion request was denied.

“If we did an extension of that gaming zone, then we're looking at how close it is to Peterborough,” said Bitonti.

One operator will operate facilities in the Kawartha, Belleville-Quinte and Thousand Islands zones — what's known as the Ontario east bundle.

Kawartha Downs may remain in Cavan-Monaghan Township or move to Peterborough; Ganaoque's Thousand Islands Casino could also move to Kingston.

Belleville-Quinte's casino is permitted maximums of 300 slot machines and 180 live-table gaming positions — the number of seats around each game, each of which has five to 10 seats.

The selection process for operators is now in its second of three stages. Bitonti said information on the process was downloaded 100 times from a provincial website before the request-for-information phase ended in July, with requests for pre-qualification sought in November.

“This is where we're finding out who are the qualified gaming companies for these zones,” Bitonti said.

“We'll whittle it down to three to five. They will be invited to the third stage ... the request for proposal. That's where the actual bids come forward.”

Bitonti said OLG hasn't set a starting date for that third and final phase, saying the corporation needs time to study its shortlist.

“We want to make sure we get the best of the best of these facilities,” he said. “We have to make sure these people are legit; they have the backing.

“This is a huge procurement ... one of the biggest in Ontario.”

Ellis said he's content with the timeline and OLG's handling of the process.

“OLG has ... always kept me in the loop.”

As reported Wednesday in The Intelligencer, Ellis predicts more restaurants and other businesses will follow a casino to Belleville.

Timeline:

Stage 1: Request for information

May-July 2012

Potential casino operators invited to get involved in province's creation of new casinos.

Stage 2: Request for pre-qualifications

November 2012-March 7, 2013

Potential operators reviewed and shortlisted by province. Three to five to be selected per gaming zone.